Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson Defends His Weirdest Onstage Outfit

A quick Google search of Bruce Dickinson in the '80s will yield some pretty head-scratching results. Even in a decade rife with some of the most outrageous stage clothes in the history of heavy music, Iron Maiden's frontman still appears curiously out of place. A flip through the booklets of album re-releases reveal multi-colored court jester-like Spandex, tattered tunics... and the most unsightly outfit imaginable on the tour promoting Somewhere in Time.

In recent years, Dickinson's wardrobe has felt rather domesticated, a far cry from the brazen (and bulging) days of old; he now rocks a beanie, hoodie, camouflage fatigues, a sport jacket... really, anything any average person would wear. Perhaps he no longer suffers from "trouser envy," a term the singer used in his autobiography, What Does This Button Do?, when reflecting on a time when cling-wrapped pants were the norm.

"I've worn some absolutely hideous outfits over the years — [I] make no apology for it," he opens in the video above. We asked him about what went behind some of these outfits, which he quipped may have been "more conventional" if he had done any drugs (he's notoriously drug-free). Taking us through the aforementioned Somewhere in Time tour, Dickinson recalled telling the seamstress, "I'd like you to imagine a strange alien planet which is inhabited by green, scaly lizards. Freshly killed, we skin one, make a pair of trousers out of it..."

There's more to it than that as Dickinson eagerly detailed the rest of the process as one monitor engineer took on the project of constructing the sci-fi, live wire jacket. And you'll be stunned to learn where this jacket now resides. Watch the video above and find out.

Where Does Bruce Dickinson Rank Among the Top 66 Hard Rock + Metal Frontmen of All Time?